Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Day 691 - Apr 20, 2010

The elevator was fixed by the time we got up this morning, but I still called to set up a 'contingency' plan. I really liked the idea that if the thing is broken, we can stay at a local hotel because there is absolutely no way that Kevin is going to HAVE to walk up those four flights of stairs again.

Unfortunately, the manager didn't return my call today. I am giving her a couple of days because who knows...maybe she's off sick or something, but if nothing is done by Thursday or Friday, I will most certainly call that advocacy group.

So we did have a doctor's appointment and we did go and all is well with Kevin. We are going to keep playing with his meds trying to get his pain more managed and also trying to eliminate the amount of pills he still takes every day. We have to do it slow though so time will tell.

And we did visit the ward today too. We miss everyone. It's like living with a bunch of people and then moving away (which I guess really is what we did, lol). It was funny because Kevin went right to his room (he has almost always been in 403) and was shocked that someone else was in there. I think he thought it would be saved for him, hehe.

3 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I'm glad it was fixed for now. Just hope they return your call soon. What if it was someone who couldn't walk up the stairs at all? It needs to be fixed more permanently. He's been sick enough without any added stress. Maybe if you bring up a motel, they will realize that fixing the thing completely will be less in the long run than paying for motels. If they don't return your call within a reasonable time, then I would make other arrangements with calling the group. It's also a peace of mind type thing. Esp. with Kevin getting sick without notice. It just worked out that he wasn't getting sick when he had to take the steps. On other days it would not even be possible. Too bad they couldn't move you to a first floor level. That would solve all of this. I hope Breezy is feeling better. Sorry to hear she had the flu. That's funny about Kevin going to his room. :) Hope today is a better one! :)Take care,Kathy in IA

Found another article for you from nmfa.org (National Military Family Organization) - they are doing a lot to help family caregivers of wounded soldiers. Here's the article on a new publication for caregivers taking care of loved ones with TBI.

DoD/VA TBI Caregiver Informational Guide is Now Available

On April 14th, the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Force Health Protection and Readiness Council approved the Traumatic Brain Injury: A Guide for Caregivers of Service Members and Veterans. The curriculum was a requirement of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 Section 744. A member of the National Military Family Association was appointed to serve on the 15-panel member committee. Panel members were to “develop coordinated, uniform, and consistent training curricula to be used in training family members in the provision of care and assistance to members and former members of the Armed Forces with traumatic brain injury.”

The curriculum is divided up into four Modules. Module I provides details of the brain’s anatomy. Module II provides the location of the injury along with the corresponding signs and symptoms. Module III helps the caregiver, provides advocacy information, and gives guidance on ways to support the children. Module IV provides a list of DoD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) services and benefits. The curriculum will also include a Caregiver’s Companion packet.

The Caregiver curriculum is being prepared for final printing and will be made available through the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) under “Family and Friends.” It is also available on the website, www.traumaticbraininjuryatoz.org. To access, click on the “Caregiver’s Journey” and then, click on the curriculum in the green box on left.The National Military Family Association was pleased to play a role in the development of this important curriculum. Please share your thoughts on the Caregiver curriculum with us on our Facebook page.

Hi Leslie, Bryan Ott here:the Care giver bill will take effect 270 days from when Obama signs it, it's not signed as of today. You will get what the CNA's get for the hours the VA determines you provide Kevin with care. It's better than I thought it would be.

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What is Mended Wings

This blog is dedicated to my son, Kevin, who was critically wounded in Afghanistan on May 31, 2008. My daughter, Brianna, and I left our homes and our lives to be by his side from that day forward.

Here is where you will learn of all of our accomplishments as well as the trials of his recovery of such serious injuries.

Although we have come through the acute stage of his burns, we are now focusing on the rehab for his brain injury. For those of you unaware, Kevin has lost nearly 85% of the function of the left side of his brain, causing him to not be able to do much (yet) with his right side and he can only say a few words so far. He also has to learn to write and he needs to remember everything in his past life.

Basically, we have 'started over'.

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